Judith Fierstein is a Research Geologist at the California Volcano Observatory
Science and Products
Database for the Geologic Map of Three Sisters Volcanic Cluster, Cascade Range, Oregon
A database of geologic map of Three Sisters Volcanic Cluster as described in the original abstract: The geologic map represents part of a late Quaternary volcanic field within which scores of eruptions have taken place over the last 50,000 years, some as recently as ~1,500 years ago. No rocks of early Pleistocene (or greater) age crop out within the map area, although volcanic and derivative sedi
Filter Total Items: 13
Ages of the granitic basement of Long Valley Caldera, California, USA, and siting of the Quaternary granite-rhyolite pluton
The leucogranitic crystal-mush pluton beneath the iconic Long Valley Caldera, California, USA, released >820 km3 of crystal-poor Pleistocene rhyolite, which was hosted by numerous Mesozoic granitic plutons, only a few of which had been dated until now. Reported here are U-Pb zircon ages, determined by sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe−reverse geometry (SHRIMP-RG), for 11 circumcaldera grani
Authors
Edward Hildreth, Judith E. Fierstein, Jorge A. Vazquez
Precaldera mafic magmatism at Long Valley, California: Magma-tectonic siting and incubation of the Great Rhyolite System
The iconic volcanic center at Long Valley has released ∼820 km3 of rhyolite in at least 110 eruptions. From 2.2 Ma until 0.23 Ma, products were exclusively rhyolitic, and ∼ 700 km3 were high-silica rhyolite severely depleted in Sr, Ba, and Eu. The rhyolitic interval was preceded by an interval from 3.9 to 2.6 Ma with numerous basalt-andesite-dacite eruptions accompanied by no rhyolite at all. We h
Authors
Edward Hildreth, Judith E. Fierstein, Andrew T. Calvert
Lateral extent of pyroclastic surge deposits at Ubehebe Crater (Death Valley, CA) and implications for hazards in monogenetic volcanic fields
Hazard assessments in monogenetic volcanic fields require estimates of the runout of
pyroclastic surges that result from phreatomagmatic explosive activity. Previous assessments
used runout distances of 1-4 km, with large cases up to 6 km. Surge deposits at Ubehebe Crater
(~2100 y.b.p., Death Valley, California) have been traced ~9 km from the crater center, and
likely originally extended 1-3 km f
Authors
Gregory Valentine, Judith E. Fierstein, James D.L. White
Trachyandesite of Kennedy Table, its vent complex, and post−9.3 Ma uplift of the central Sierra Nevada
Tectonic interpretation of the central Sierra Nevada—whether the crest of the Sierra Nevada (California, USA) was uplifted in the late Cenozoic or whether the range has undergone continuous down-wearing since the Late Cretaceous—is controversial, since there is no obvious tectonic explanation for renewed uplift. The strongest direct evidence for late Cenozoic uplift of the central Sierra Nevada co
Authors
Edward Hildreth, Judith Fierstein, Fred M. Phillips, Andrew T. Calvert
No ring fracture in Mono Basin, California
In Mono Basin, California, USA, a near-circular ring fracture 12 km in diameter was proposed by R.W. Kistler in 1966 to have originated as the protoclastic margin of the Cretaceous Aeolian Buttes pluton, to have been reactivated in the middle Pleistocene, and to have influenced the arcuate trend of the chain of 30 young (62−0.7 ka) rhyolite domes called the Mono Craters. In view of the frequency a
Authors
Edward Hildreth, Judith Fierstein, Juliet Ryan-Davis
The remarkable volcanism of Shastina, a stratocone segment of Mount Shasta, California
Mount Shasta, a 400 km3 volcano in northern California (United States), is the most voluminous stratocone of the Cascade arc. Most Mount Shasta lavas vented at or near the present summit; relatively smaller volumes erupted from scattered vents on the volcano’s flanks. An apron of pyroclastic and debris flows surrounds it.Shastina, a large and distinct cone on the west side of Mount Shasta, represe
Authors
Robert L. Christiansen, Andrew T. Calvert, Duane E. Champion, Cynthia A. Gardner, Judith E. Fierstein, Jorge A. Vazquez
Frequency of volcanic eruptions in the Mammoth Lakes Sierra
Geologists recognize lavas and ash deposits from about 60 past eruptions in the area around Mammoth Mountain and Devils Postpile, California. This raises the unanswerable question, “When will it erupt again?” An alternative, answerable, and informative question is, “How often has it erupted?”In the Mammoth Lakes Sierra, geologists have mapped in great detail all the lavas and ash deposits produced
Authors
Wes Hildreth, Andrew T. Calvert, Judith Fierstein, Mae Marcaida
Monogenetic origin of Ubehebe Crater maar volcano, Death Valley, California: Paleomagnetic and stratigraphic evidence
Paleomagnetic data for samples collected from outcrops of basaltic spatter at the Ubehebe Crater cluster, Death Valley National Park, California, record a single direction of remanent magnetization indicating that these materials were emplaced during a short duration, monogenetic eruption sequence ~ 2100 years ago. This conclusion is supported by geochemical data encompassing a narrow range of oxi
Authors
Duane E. Champion, Andrew J. Cyr, Judith Fierstein, Edward Hildreth
The timing of compositionally-zoned magma reservoirs and mafic 'priming' weeks before the 1912 Novarupta-Katmai rhyolite eruption
The June 6, 1912 eruption of more than 13 km3 of dense rock equivalent (DRE) magma at Novarupta vent, Alaska was the largest of the 20th century. It ejected >7 km3 of rhyolite, ~1.3 km3 of andesite and ~4.6 km3 of dacite. Early ideas about the origin of pyroclastic flows and magmatic differentiation (e.g., compositional zonation of reservoirs) were shaped by this eruption. Despite being well studi
Authors
Brad S. Singer, Fidel Costa, Jason S. Herrin, Wes Hildreth, Judith Fierstein
Mammoth Mountain and its mafic periphery—A late Quaternary volcanic field in eastern California
The trachydacite complex of Mammoth Mountain and an array of contemporaneous mafic volcanoes in its periphery together form a discrete late Pleistocene magmatic system that is thermally and compositionally independent of the adjacent subalkaline Long Valley system (California, USA). The Mammoth system first erupted ca. 230 ka, last erupted ca. 8 ka, and remains restless and potentially active. Mag
Authors
Wes Hildreth, Judith Fierstein, Duane E. Champion, Andrew T. Calvert
Dynamics of a large, restless, rhyolitic magma system at Laguna del Maule, southern Andes, Chile
Explosive eruptions of large-volume rhyolitic magma systems are common in the geologic record and pose a major potential threat to society. Unlike other natural hazards, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, a large rhyolitic volcano may provide warning signs long before a caldera-forming eruption occurs. Yet, these signs—and what they imply about magma-crust dynamics—are not well known. This is becau
Authors
Brad S. Singer, Nathan L. Andersen, Hélène Le Mével, Kurt L. Feigl, Charles DeMets, Basil Tikoff, Clifford H. Thurber, Brian R. Jicha, Carlos Cardonna, Loreto Córdova, Fernando Gil, Martyn J. Unsworth, Glyn Williams-Jones, Craig W. Miller, Judith Fierstein, Edward Hildreth, Jorge A. Vazquez
Eruptive history of Mount Katmai, Alaska
Mount Katmai has long been recognized for its caldera collapse during the great pyroclastic eruption of 1912 (which vented 10 km away at Novarupta in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes), but little has previously been reported about the geology of the remote ice-clad stratovolcano itself. Over several seasons, we reconnoitered all parts of the edifice and sampled most of the lava flows exposed on i
Authors
Edward Hildreth, Judith Fierstein
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
- Data
Database for the Geologic Map of Three Sisters Volcanic Cluster, Cascade Range, Oregon
A database of geologic map of Three Sisters Volcanic Cluster as described in the original abstract: The geologic map represents part of a late Quaternary volcanic field within which scores of eruptions have taken place over the last 50,000 years, some as recently as ~1,500 years ago. No rocks of early Pleistocene (or greater) age crop out within the map area, although volcanic and derivative sedi - Publications
Filter Total Items: 13
Ages of the granitic basement of Long Valley Caldera, California, USA, and siting of the Quaternary granite-rhyolite pluton
The leucogranitic crystal-mush pluton beneath the iconic Long Valley Caldera, California, USA, released >820 km3 of crystal-poor Pleistocene rhyolite, which was hosted by numerous Mesozoic granitic plutons, only a few of which had been dated until now. Reported here are U-Pb zircon ages, determined by sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe−reverse geometry (SHRIMP-RG), for 11 circumcaldera graniAuthorsEdward Hildreth, Judith E. Fierstein, Jorge A. VazquezPrecaldera mafic magmatism at Long Valley, California: Magma-tectonic siting and incubation of the Great Rhyolite System
The iconic volcanic center at Long Valley has released ∼820 km3 of rhyolite in at least 110 eruptions. From 2.2 Ma until 0.23 Ma, products were exclusively rhyolitic, and ∼ 700 km3 were high-silica rhyolite severely depleted in Sr, Ba, and Eu. The rhyolitic interval was preceded by an interval from 3.9 to 2.6 Ma with numerous basalt-andesite-dacite eruptions accompanied by no rhyolite at all. We hAuthorsEdward Hildreth, Judith E. Fierstein, Andrew T. CalvertLateral extent of pyroclastic surge deposits at Ubehebe Crater (Death Valley, CA) and implications for hazards in monogenetic volcanic fields
Hazard assessments in monogenetic volcanic fields require estimates of the runout of pyroclastic surges that result from phreatomagmatic explosive activity. Previous assessments used runout distances of 1-4 km, with large cases up to 6 km. Surge deposits at Ubehebe Crater (~2100 y.b.p., Death Valley, California) have been traced ~9 km from the crater center, and likely originally extended 1-3 km fAuthorsGregory Valentine, Judith E. Fierstein, James D.L. WhiteTrachyandesite of Kennedy Table, its vent complex, and post−9.3 Ma uplift of the central Sierra Nevada
Tectonic interpretation of the central Sierra Nevada—whether the crest of the Sierra Nevada (California, USA) was uplifted in the late Cenozoic or whether the range has undergone continuous down-wearing since the Late Cretaceous—is controversial, since there is no obvious tectonic explanation for renewed uplift. The strongest direct evidence for late Cenozoic uplift of the central Sierra Nevada coAuthorsEdward Hildreth, Judith Fierstein, Fred M. Phillips, Andrew T. CalvertNo ring fracture in Mono Basin, California
In Mono Basin, California, USA, a near-circular ring fracture 12 km in diameter was proposed by R.W. Kistler in 1966 to have originated as the protoclastic margin of the Cretaceous Aeolian Buttes pluton, to have been reactivated in the middle Pleistocene, and to have influenced the arcuate trend of the chain of 30 young (62−0.7 ka) rhyolite domes called the Mono Craters. In view of the frequency aAuthorsEdward Hildreth, Judith Fierstein, Juliet Ryan-DavisThe remarkable volcanism of Shastina, a stratocone segment of Mount Shasta, California
Mount Shasta, a 400 km3 volcano in northern California (United States), is the most voluminous stratocone of the Cascade arc. Most Mount Shasta lavas vented at or near the present summit; relatively smaller volumes erupted from scattered vents on the volcano’s flanks. An apron of pyroclastic and debris flows surrounds it.Shastina, a large and distinct cone on the west side of Mount Shasta, represeAuthorsRobert L. Christiansen, Andrew T. Calvert, Duane E. Champion, Cynthia A. Gardner, Judith E. Fierstein, Jorge A. VazquezFrequency of volcanic eruptions in the Mammoth Lakes Sierra
Geologists recognize lavas and ash deposits from about 60 past eruptions in the area around Mammoth Mountain and Devils Postpile, California. This raises the unanswerable question, “When will it erupt again?” An alternative, answerable, and informative question is, “How often has it erupted?”In the Mammoth Lakes Sierra, geologists have mapped in great detail all the lavas and ash deposits producedAuthorsWes Hildreth, Andrew T. Calvert, Judith Fierstein, Mae MarcaidaMonogenetic origin of Ubehebe Crater maar volcano, Death Valley, California: Paleomagnetic and stratigraphic evidence
Paleomagnetic data for samples collected from outcrops of basaltic spatter at the Ubehebe Crater cluster, Death Valley National Park, California, record a single direction of remanent magnetization indicating that these materials were emplaced during a short duration, monogenetic eruption sequence ~ 2100 years ago. This conclusion is supported by geochemical data encompassing a narrow range of oxiAuthorsDuane E. Champion, Andrew J. Cyr, Judith Fierstein, Edward HildrethThe timing of compositionally-zoned magma reservoirs and mafic 'priming' weeks before the 1912 Novarupta-Katmai rhyolite eruption
The June 6, 1912 eruption of more than 13 km3 of dense rock equivalent (DRE) magma at Novarupta vent, Alaska was the largest of the 20th century. It ejected >7 km3 of rhyolite, ~1.3 km3 of andesite and ~4.6 km3 of dacite. Early ideas about the origin of pyroclastic flows and magmatic differentiation (e.g., compositional zonation of reservoirs) were shaped by this eruption. Despite being well studiAuthorsBrad S. Singer, Fidel Costa, Jason S. Herrin, Wes Hildreth, Judith FiersteinMammoth Mountain and its mafic periphery—A late Quaternary volcanic field in eastern California
The trachydacite complex of Mammoth Mountain and an array of contemporaneous mafic volcanoes in its periphery together form a discrete late Pleistocene magmatic system that is thermally and compositionally independent of the adjacent subalkaline Long Valley system (California, USA). The Mammoth system first erupted ca. 230 ka, last erupted ca. 8 ka, and remains restless and potentially active. MagAuthorsWes Hildreth, Judith Fierstein, Duane E. Champion, Andrew T. CalvertDynamics of a large, restless, rhyolitic magma system at Laguna del Maule, southern Andes, Chile
Explosive eruptions of large-volume rhyolitic magma systems are common in the geologic record and pose a major potential threat to society. Unlike other natural hazards, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, a large rhyolitic volcano may provide warning signs long before a caldera-forming eruption occurs. Yet, these signs—and what they imply about magma-crust dynamics—are not well known. This is becauAuthorsBrad S. Singer, Nathan L. Andersen, Hélène Le Mével, Kurt L. Feigl, Charles DeMets, Basil Tikoff, Clifford H. Thurber, Brian R. Jicha, Carlos Cardonna, Loreto Córdova, Fernando Gil, Martyn J. Unsworth, Glyn Williams-Jones, Craig W. Miller, Judith Fierstein, Edward Hildreth, Jorge A. VazquezEruptive history of Mount Katmai, Alaska
Mount Katmai has long been recognized for its caldera collapse during the great pyroclastic eruption of 1912 (which vented 10 km away at Novarupta in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes), but little has previously been reported about the geology of the remote ice-clad stratovolcano itself. Over several seasons, we reconnoitered all parts of the edifice and sampled most of the lava flows exposed on iAuthorsEdward Hildreth, Judith FiersteinNon-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.